श्रीराम उवाच । एवमेव मनः शुद्धं पृथ्व्यादिरहितं त्वया । मनो ब्रह्मेति कथितं सत्यं पृथ्व्यादिवर्जितम् ॥ १ ॥
śrīrāma uvāca | ēvamēva manaḥ śuddhaṁ pṛthvyādirahitaṁ tvayā | manō brahmēti kathitaṁ satyaṁ pṛthvyādivarjitam || 1 ||
Translation
Rāma said: "In just this way you have told me that mind, pure and without earth and the rest, is Brahmā: true, and free of earth and the rest.
Word by word
- ēvam
- in this way
- ēva
- just
- manaḥ
- mind
- śuddhaṁ
- pure
- pṛthvī
- earth
- ādi
- and the rest
- rahitaṁ
- without
- tvayā
- you
- manō
- (manaḥ) mind
- brahmā
- Brahmā
- iti
- that
- kathitaṁ
- have told me
- satyaṁ
- true
- varjitam
- free of
Meaning
Rāma takes up the last teaching of the previous sarga (3.2.49: Brahmā is mind alone, imagining, a form without earth) and sees a difficulty in it, which the next verse states. The commentary explains why: a mind is a collection of impressions (vāsanā), and the sarga before also said that Brahmā has no web of past impressions (3.2.41). How can he be mind and have no impressions? Rāma first repeats what he has accepted, so that the question is clear.